Purchase
Bowie, October 2009
Paperback / e-Book
A Biography
Crown Archetype
October 2009
On Sale: October 15, 2009
448 pages ISBN: 0307716996 EAN: 9780307716996 Kindle: B002SW8Y92 Paperback / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Biography
An expansive biography of David Bowie, one of the twentieth
century’s greatest music and cultural icons. From noted author and rock ’n’ roll journalist Marc Spitz
comes a major David Bowie biography to rival any other.
Following Bowie’s life from his start as David Jones, an R &
B—loving kid from Bromley, England, to his rise to rock ’n’
roll aristocracy as David Bowie, Bowie recounts his career
but also reveals how much his music has influenced other
musicians and forever changed the landscape of the modern
era. Along the way, Spitz reflects on how growing up with
Bowie as his soundtrack and how writing this definitive book
on Bowie influenced him in ways he never expected, adding a
personal dimension that Bowie fans and those passionate
about art and culture will connect with and that no other
bio on the artist offers. Bowie takes an in-depth look at the culture of postwar
England in which Bowie grew up, the mod and hippie scenes of
swinging London in the sixties, the sex and drug-fueled
glitter scene of the early seventies when Bowie’s alter-ego
Ziggy Stardust was born, his rise to global stardom in the
eighties and his subsequent status as an elder statesman of
alternative culture. Spitz puts each incarnation of Bowie
into the context of its era, creating a cultural time line
that is intriguing both for its historical significance as
well as for its delineation of this rock ’n’ roll legend,
the first musician to evolve a coherent vision after the
death of the sixties dream. Amid the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll mayhem, a deeper
portrait of the artist emerges. Bowie’s early struggles to
go from follower to leader, his tricky relationship with art
and commerce and Buddhism and the occult, his complicated
family life, his open romantic relationship and, finally,
his perceived disavowal of all that made him a touchstone
for outcasts are all thoughtfully explored. A fresh
evaluation of his recorded work, as well as his film, stage
and video performances, is included as well. Based on a hundred original interviews with those who knew
him best and those familiar with his work, including ex-wife
Angie Bowie, former Bowie manager Kenneth Pitt, Siouxsie
Sioux, Camille Paglia, Dick Cavett, Todd Haynes, Ricky
Gervais and Peter Frampton, Bowie gives us not only a
portrait of one of the most important artists in the last
century, but also an honest examination of a truly
revolutionary artist and the unique impact he’s had across
generations.
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